Communication systems, particularly those used in public safety environment, such as law enforcement, fire rescue, and other mission-critical environments, typically rely on portable radio operations. It is important that such devices provide good antenna coverage. Portable radios which are worn on the body, such as on a belt, facilitate user interface operation and promote a hands-free environment, which is important when working in public safety applications. However, wearable devices may suffer degraded antenna coverage due to the very fact that they are worn on the body. Loss of antenna coverage can be particularly problematic to land mobile radios worn at the belt and operating in public safety environments. Additionally, in a two device system where the belt worn radio is used in conjunction with a body worn accessory, such as a body worn accessory worn at the shoulder, the ability to improve antenna coverage of the belt worn radio becomes extremely challenging.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to enhance antenna coverage of a body wearable communication device.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.